My South Forbes experience

MANILA, Philippines - Now that school has begun, every student will have stories to tell about how he spent his summer, even make a written composition about it in his language classes.

Just image the wonderful things they can say about their summer vacation trip to South Forbes Golf City, recipient of the Best Golf Community Development by the 2007 CNBC International Property Awards (the world’s most prestigious property awards programme) and the Highly Commended Award for Best Development by the 2010 Bloomberg Asia-Pacific Residential Award.

Anticipation and Amazement. From the South Luzon Expressway, we exited through the Sta. Rosa exit and were amazed at how the Metro Sta. Rosa – Tagaytay corridor has flourished from its humble beginnings just over a decade ago.

This booming region has become the ideal place to set up business with the availability of major infrastructure such as roads, communication systems, and electricity and it is apparent that these are continuously being improved to sustain the business and technology parks, educational institutions, and residential developments in the area.

Not far from where we exited was the entrance to South Forbes Golf City, the country’s largest fully-integrated and all-themed golf resort city at the forefront of the Metro Sta. Rosa – Tagaytay corridor.

World Travel. The first thing you notice upon stepping over the city gates are the unique character of the individual villages which they collectively call the Residential Cluster. It’s like travelling around the world because each village features the architecture of a featured city in some part of the globe.

The first cluster we checked out was their Communities part which immediately felt like home. They had the quaint, Spanish-inspired Mediterranean Villas, the regal, French-inspired Châteaux de Paris, and the chic, East Coast, American-style Miami.

A walled village cluster on a higher level is called the Mansions, which has its own gated entry. On one side is the warm Bali Mansions which remarkably felt like being in an Indonesian island beach. On the other side are the tranquil Tokyo Mansions -- so Zen -- and the tropical Phuket Mansions. Staying in their clubhouses was just like being in their countries. No kidding.

There were two condominium types also. Near the villages is Scandia Suites which has typical-sized units like those in Metro Manila, and complete with commercial stores on the ground floor. The other one is the Golf View Terraces which runs along the golf course. There was a great view of the fairway from the balcony and the wind was so cool.

I Can Live Here. It’s amazing how many people already live here in their many villages. More than that, if mom and dad decide to move here, it would not be too much of a problem with the many schools in the area. Inside South Forbes are two established schools in what they call their Education Cluster. I can study at the Learning Links Academy of Sta. Rosa while my older siblings can move to the recently-opened South Forbes City Colleges, which has modern facilities and equipped with fiber optic connectivity to insure that its students will be educated and trained on an international standard.

I hope my parents decide to “Move in right here, right now.” You should call 635-7777 or 631-8855 for a free city tour or log on to www.southforbes.com for more information like we did.